What if What Is and What Should Never Be
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if it wasn't a dream. Spoilers for All Hell Breaks Loose and In the Beginning. Chapter 9 of 9 up.
1. Wish

What if it wasn't a dream?

Dean headed into the warehouse looking for the djinn. He wondered if they really did grant wishes, and if so what was up with the disappearing people. He thought he heard something, but when he turned to look there was nothing there. He was getting a little spooked. Maybe Sam was right and he should have picked him up before coming in here.

Dean shrugged and turned back around and was confronted by the djinn. "Every tenth victim gets a wish," it hissed and put his hand on Dean's head.

"Very well," it said after reading Dean's mind, and Dean fell into blackness.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean woke up, wondering where he was. It didn't feel like a hotel somehow. The TV was on some old monster movie and there was somebody in bed with him. He opened his eyes and saw a really hot girl next to him. As quietly as he could, he got out of bed and went into the other room. He saw his cell phone on the nightstand and grabbed it on his way out. He opened it up and scrolled for Sam's name. He was momentarily confused as he thought Sam's name was first, but he glided past the unfamiliar names until he saw Sam. He hit the button that would call him.

"Dean?" he heard Sam say as he answered the phone. He sounded confused.

"Sam, I don't know where I am," he said urgently.

"What? What happened?"

"I think the djinn did something to me," Dean replied. Sam would know how to fix what happened. If he knew Sam, he had been furiously researching djinns ever since he had found out that was what they were hunting.

"You were drinking gin?" Sam asked. He thought Dean usually just stuck with beer and whiskey.

"No, the scary monster we're hunting," Dean said getting irritated. "I found him in the warehouse and he touched me and the next thing I know I'm waking up next to this hot girl."

"You mean Carmen?" Sam asked, hoping that his stupid brother wasn't cheating on the one good thing in his life.

"Carmen?" Dean asked, confused. How would Sam know the name of some random chick he hooked up with?

"Get some sleep, Dean. I'll see you tomorrow," Sam said and hung up. He shook his head. That was the first time he had heard from Dean in months and apparently only because he was drunk. He closed his law book and headed off to join Jess in bed.

Dean looked over and saw mail on the table. He started flipping through it and saw bills and letters addressed to someone named Carmen, but then he saw his own name. Equally disturbing was the fact that the address was Lawrence, Kansas. "Lawrence?" he asked himself confused.

He looked up to see the woman from bed come in. "Having trouble sleeping?" she asked.

"Carmen?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Carmen answered after Dean hadn't said anything else.

"I'm not feeling well. I think maybe I need some air," Dean said.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.

"No. That's OK. I'll be back soon," he said and headed out the door before she could ask him anything else. If he was in Lawrence he would head over to their old house. He had spoken to Missouri a couple of weeks ago and Jenny had taken her in after she had had a stroke. Jenny wouldn't turn him away and Missouri would know what was going on.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

He pulled up to the house and rang the doorbell. He knew it was late, but he and Sam had saved her kids from a poltergeist, so she should forgive him for waking her up. The door opened and Dean couldn't believe his eyes.

"Dean, what are you doing here?" his father asked.

"Dad?" Dean asked. This couldn't be real. His father was dead, had sold his soul to save him.

"Who is it, John?" he heard in the background.

"Dean," John answered.

"Is something wrong?" the voice asked as it came closer and his mother appeared in the door.

"Mom?" This was even more confusing. He didn't know what was going on, but right now he didn't care. He rushed into the house and hugged them both at the same time.

"Dean, what's wrong?" John asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I just really wanted to see you guys," he said.

"Dean, we work at the garage together. You see me every day," John pointed out.

"You've been drinking. I'm going to call Carmen and have her come pick you up," Mary said.

"No, I'm not drunk and I want to stay here," Dean insisted.

"Did you two have a fight?" John asked. He hoped Dean hadn't messed things up with Carmen. She really seemed to keep him grounded.

"No, I just miss the place," Dean said lamely.

"OK. We can ride into work together in the morning, then," John said. "Good night."

John and Mary headed upstairs and Dean looked around at all the family pictures in the living room. He finally settled down on the couch and went to sleep.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean awoke with a start. He remembered all the events from last night and puzzled at their meaning. He grabbed his cell and tried Sam. He got his voice mail and hung up.

"Want breakfast?" his mother asked from the kitchen.

A homemade breakfast. "Yeah," Dean said excitedly. His excitement died a little when his mom gave him a bowl and box of Cheerio's. Oh well, maybe she didn't cook him anything, but this was the first time in over 20 years, his mother had handed him anything. "Thanks," he said.

His dad came in and sat down, pouring himself a bowl. "So, what happened last night, Dean?" he asked. Mary had told him to leave it alone, but if his son was derailing his life, he wanted to stop it if he could. He loved both his sons, but Dean was a constant source of worry. At least he had been until he'd met Carmen last year.

"Nothing. I had a really weird dream about when I was a kid and got nostalgic," Dean made up a lie on the spot.

"OK, well are you ready to go to work. You can drive me. I'm kind of nostalgic for the Impala," John smiled at Dean. He remembered how excited Dean was when he gave him the Impala for his sixteenth birthday. At the time, John had no idea that Dean would have been able to keep it running this long. A screw up in so many other ways, Dean really was a good mechanic.

"Yeah, great," Dean said, glad that he was going to be able to spend some time with his father. He had missed him this last year.


	2. This is Your Life

Dean had spent the morning under several cars and hadn't seen his dad since they arrived. "Want to grab some lunch?" his dad now came up and asked him.

Dean had noticed there was a college down the road. " Actually I have an errand to run, Dad," Dean answered. He did want to spend time with his dad, but he also needed to figure out if this was real, or what was going on.

"OK, see you later," John replied. He asked Dean if he wanted to get lunch every day and Dean usually said no, so his refusal wasn't a big surprise.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean found a professor he thought could help him. "What can you tell me about djinns?" he asked after introducing himself as a student.

"They're all over the Koran, going back centuries," the professor began.

"Yeah, yeah. Get to the wish part," Dean said, impatient.

"What about it?"

"Do you think they can really do it?" Dean asked.

The professor decided this guy was disturbed. "No. They aren't real, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I mean in the stories, if you had a wish, but didn't say it out loud, could the genie make it happen?" Dean realized the question was ridiculous.

"Yes. I suppose so. They were supposed to be very powerful," the professor said, still suspicious of Dean's sanity.

"Thanks," Dean said and left. The professor was going to be of no help. Dean didn't know why he had bothered coming here.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

At the end of the day, Dean was tired. Hunting was hard work, but this was different. It was constant, keep to a schedule, having a boss work. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep this up. He went to look for his dad, remembering he had to give him a ride home.

"Why don't we go to your place and pick Carmen up. You guys can get ready and then bring me home, and I'll get ready," John suggested.

"Ready for what?" Dean asked.

"Your mother's birthday dinner. You didn't forget did you?" John asked.

"No, of course not," Dean said, wondering if he had a present stashed away somewhere.

He almost forgot where he lived, coming from a different direction, but luckily his dad didn't notice his hesitations at certain intersections.

"Hi, Carmen," he said when he walked in the door. She was already dressed in a slinky black dress. He could definitely get used to her.

"Carmen, you look lovely as usual," John said.

"Thanks. Can I get you something to drink while we wait for Dean to shower and get dressed?" Carmen asked, giving Dean a push in the direction of the bathroom.

"A beer would be great," John said.

When Dean was out of the way, John asked, "Has Dean been acting strange lately?"

"Just last night," Carmen said. "Did he say anything to you?"

"He just said that he had a dream about when he was a kid and was feeling nostalgic," John relayed his brief conversation to Carmen.

"Maybe he had some kind of nightmare where you and Mary died and he went to protect you. Afraid to admit he was scared?" Carmen hypothesized.

"That makes sense. A grown man wouldn't want to admit he was afraid to lose his parents, but of course nobody ever wants their parents gone, no matter how old they are."

"Maybe we should just act like nothing is wrong. If that was all it was, he'll probably be fine now," Carmen said.

"OK," John agreed.

A little while later Dean emerged wearing a suit. He felt uncomfortable as he always did in suits, but Carmen lit up when she saw him. "You look so handsome. All the other women will be jealous of me," she said and kissed him.

Dean just smiled at her. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," John and Carmen both answered.

"Will Sam be there?" Dean asked.

John sighed. "Of course. I told you last week, he and Jessica were flying in."

"Jessica?" Dean said excitedly.

"Yes. They're getting very close. Probably won't be too long before we hear wedding bells," John said with a smile on his face. He couldn't imagine a better daughter-in-law than Jessica Moore.

"That's great,' Dean said with an even bigger smile.

John was wondering since when Dean cared about anything Sam was up to, but was glad. He had always hoped his two sons could be closer. They were so different and there was so much distance between them.

"I've only met Jessica once, but she seems really sweet," Carmen was saying.

"Yes, she is," Dean enthused.

John was again puzzled by Dean's sudden enthusiasm for the couple but decided to keep it to himself. Maybe Sam was in this dream Dean had.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam and Jessica pulled up to the house in their rented car. Mary heard the car and ran out to greet them.

"Hi, Mom," Sam said giving her a hug.

"Hi, Mary," Jessica said.

"I'm so glad you two could make it. We haven't seen you in months."

"I know. We get so busy with our studies. Sorry, we don't get here more often," Sam apologized.

"That's OK. When you both get your law degrees, you can come back here for a week long celebration and rest."

"Sounds good," Jessica said.

"Well, come on in and get ready. The others should be here shortly."


	3. Not Sam and Dean

Mary, Sam, and Jessica were sitting in the living room when John, Dean, and Carmen arrived.

"Jessica!" Dean gushed and ran forward to hug her.

"Nice to see you, too," Jessica said, confused. She hoped Dean wasn't coming on to her again. He had tried to get her into bed the first time Sam had brought her for a visit three years ago, and she had put him firmly in his place. Since then he had been politely distant.

"Sammy, good to see you," Dean said with a huge smile, when he finally released Jess from his bear hug. Even though he had seen Sam yesterday, it seemed like eons ago.

"Hey," Sam said. He wondered if Dean was drunk again. "So, what's with the late night phone calls?"

"Weird dream," Dean said. That was his story and he was sticking to it.

"I know how that is," Sam admitted.

"What do you mean by that?" Dean asked.

"Nothing," Sam said, shaking his head.

John went upstairs to get ready and the others sat in the living room talking. Mary was asking Sam and Jessica about their second year of law school.

"The second year is actually easier than the first," Jessica was saying. "Everybody tells you that, but I didn't believe it until I was well into this year. I think I was afraid to believe it would get any easier," she laughed.

"Yeah. Last year was so hard I actually thought about throwing in the towel a few time," Sam said.

"Really? You?" Dean was surprised. Sam had never given up on anything in his life. Sam gave him a look. Dean wasn't sure what it meant and that scared him more than anything else. He had always been able to read Sammy's expressions like a book.

"Are we ready?" John asked, walking into the room.

"We'll need to take two cars," Mary pointed out.

"Sam and Jessica can come with us and Dean and Carmen can go in their car, if that's alright with everyone?" He wanted to spend some time with Sam. He saw Dean every day.

It wasn't OK with Dean. He didn't know what to talk about with Carmen and he wanted to spend some time with his newly back to life parents, but obviously he couldn't voice this disappointment, so he just nodded and smiled.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The food was a bit fancy for his taste, but it was the best meal he had ever had. It was the only meal he had had with both his parents and his brother. And what was most amazing was Dad and Sam didn't fight at all. They seemed to get along great.

"We actually have one more surprise for Mom's birthday," Sam said. "Do you want to tell them?" he asked Jessica.

"They're your family," Jessica answered shyly.

"What? Tell me what?" Mary asked excitedly. She thought she already knew and couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.

In answer, Sam displayed Jessica's hand to the table. There was a beautiful diamond ring on it. Mary squealed with delight, and everyone got up to offer their congratulations. Dean had never seen Sam look so happy. He realized he had caught a slight glimpse of it that last weekend of Jess's life, but he hadn't wanted to see it then. He didn't want Sam happy away from him and Dad. He pushed the thoughts from his mind. They were all getting a fresh beginning.

"I'm glad you're happy, Sammy," he said and hugged him.

"What's going on with you?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?"

Sam pulled him away from the others as they sat back down. "Could you all excuse us for a minute?"

"Sure," John answered for the group. He didn't know what was going on, but anything that could bring his two sons closer together might be good.

"What's with the touchy feely emo thing?" Sam asked.

"We're brothers," Dean answered.

"We're brothers? That's what you said when you skipped my graduation and snaked my ATM card. It's probably what you would have said had I bothered confronting you about hitting on Jess a couple of years back."

Dean was stunned. He could believe the rest, but hitting on Jess, the love of Sam's life, that was low even for him. "Look, Sammy," Dean began.

"That's another thing. Since when do you call me Sammy?"

"Since always," Dean answered. He remembered calling him that before the fire. That shouldn't have changed. Should it?

"You haven't called me that since I was eight, when your friends said I was a geek and you told me to pretend we weren't brothers anymore because I embarrassed you."

Putting his friends above Sam? That had to be wrong. He would never do that.

"Sam, I want to fix this," Dean said.

"It's too late. I'm not asking you to change, but we don't have anything in common. Let's just do what we always do. See each other at holidays and act civil. It's not like we have anything in common anyway."

"Yes, we do," Dean said as he grabbed Sam's arm to stop him from walking away.

Sam looked down at Dean's hand but did nothing to remove it. "What?" he asked.

"Hunting," Dean answered.

"I've never been hunting in my life," Sam responded, wondering who Dean hunted with and when.

"Well, we should go some time. I'd bet you'd be great at it," Dean said.

Now Sam did remove Dean's hand. "No. It's too late for us." Sam walked back to the table and Dean just stared after him, hurt and confused.


	4. Choices

"What's wrong?" Carmen asked him later at home.

"Sammy and I don't get along," he said.

Carmen wondered where this was coming from. Dean never talked about Sam and when Sam came to visit he was usually cold towards him.

"I just think you guys don't spend a lot of time together. It's his loss," Carmen said, trying to make Dean feel better.

"I'm going to fix it with Sam. With everybody," Dean said.

"What's with you lately?" Carmen asked. Dean was acting very un-Dean. Not necessarily in a bad way, though.

"I feel like I've been given a second chance at life. And I want to make sure this time that it's great. I'm sure that makes no sense," Dean said.

"No, it doesn't, but that's OK. It's a good attitude. I have to go to work. I have the night shift at the hospital tonight."

Dean just smiled at the woman he was supposed to love but didn't even know. He wondered if he should break up with her, or try to fall in love with her. What would be most fair to her? Well, he didn't have to decide that tonight.

After Carmen left, he turned on the TV and saw that there was an anniversary memorial for the crash of Flight 424. "No, we stopped that crash," he said. "Maybe a flight with the same number crashed a different day." That was possible. After all, planes crashed all the time. All the time, that's why he wouldn't fly.

He went to the computer and looked it up. No, he was pretty sure that was the same flight. He looked up other cases they had been on and found out all the people they had saved had died. He knew now that he couldn't stay in this life. He had to hunt the djinn to get him to reverse his wish. It was so unfair. Why couldn't Mom live her life, and Sammy get married and give her grandchildren? Why did they have to make all the sacrifices? He didn't know why. He just knew they did. He also knew he needed silver and lamb's blood.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean was slightly ashamed of what he had done, but he had needed lamb's blood and needed it quickly. There was a petting zoo in town and he didn't figure it would be guarded at night. He was right. He tried to clean up as best he could and even buried the carcass, so hopefully a child wouldn't find the dead lamb.

He assumed that his parents had silver. He would break into their house and get it. They wouldn't be likely to call the cops on him.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam woke to a sound coming from downstairs. He got up and tiptoed to the other side of the room where his baseball bat still resided. He picked it up and crept down the hall. He peaked into his parents' room on the way and confirmed that they were both still sleeping. He carefully made his way down the stairs and heard another noise coming from the kitchen. He slipped into the kitchen with his bat poised and felt it being pulled out of his hands and himself being flung to the ground.

"That was so easy, I'm embarrassed for you," Dean said with a smile.

"Dean?" Sam asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a beer," Dean answered, remembering that's what he had said when this same situation had occurred two years ago. Of course, Sam wouldn't remember that. For him, it had never happened.

"In the china cabinet?" Sam asked turning on the light. "You're stealing Mom and Dad's silver?" he asked incredulously. He knew Dean wasn't the most moral man in the world, but he couldn't believe he would actually steal from Mom and Dad. "What's so important that you have to steal from your own parents?"

"Want the truth?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Sam answered.

Dean decided to give it to him. If all went according to plan, this Sam would cease to exist in a few hours anyway. That made him sad. While this Sam didn't seem to like him very much, at least he was happy and secure. And safe.

"I have to kill a genie."

"A genie? Like a wish-granting genie? Why would you want to kill a genie?" Sam couldn't believe he had just asked him why he would want to kill something that didn't exist. He should be asking him what was really going on, or calling for some men with strait jackets.

"Long story," Dean said and headed out the door with the silver knife he had come for.

"I'm coming with you," Sam decided. He didn't know what Dean was up to, but it sounded stupid and he might need help keeping out of trouble.

"No, you're only going to slow me down," Dean responded. This Sam was useless. Dean was sure he would make an excellent lawyer, but killing supernatural creatures seemed to be a bit beyond his abilities at the moment.

"Whatever stupid thing you're doing, you're not going to do it alone," Sam said adamantly.

"Why are you doing this?" Dean said as he relented and led the way out to the Impala.

"Because you're my brother," Sam said.

A/N Please check out my profile page and vote for what I should do for The Magnificent Seven.


	5. Genie Hunt

They drove to Chicago, with Sam sleeping most of the way. Dean shone the flashlight in his eyes to wake him up. "Hey," Sam said, grumpily. "Where are we?" he asked as he remembered the events from earlier.

"Not in Kansas anymore," Dean replied with a smile. Sam just stared at him. "Chicago," he answered seriously. This Sam was even more serious than his Sam. He hadn't thought that possible.

"And you think there's a genie in there?" Sam asked, wondering if Dean was delusional or lying to him.

"Definitely," Dean answered.

They got out and walked into the warehouse. "Stay behind me and keep quiet," Dean said, suddenly realizing that Sam was a civilian and he was putting him in danger by bringing him on a hunt.

They walked through the warehouse and didn't find anything. Unbeknownst to Dean, the djinn had left because it thought that maybe Dean would come hunting it again.

"Let's just go home. Carmen's probably worried sick," Sam said after they had thoroughly searched the warehouse. Maybe now his brother would realize he was insane.

"Yeah, OK," Dean agreed. He had no idea what to do now. He supposed he just had to live this life. It could be worse, and since he had tried to find the djinn, the deaths weren't really his fault. That was what he was going to tell himself anyway.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"We need gas," Dean said as he pulled into a gas station. Sam had been sleeping again, but woke up when he stopped.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Are you going to drive off and leave me while I'm in there?" Sam asked. He had no idea where he was and didn't want to wake Jess or his parents for a ride home.

"No, of course not," Dean said. He could tell Sam didn't believe him and wondered what awful things he had done to his brother. He pulled out the keys and handed them to him. "Satisfied?"

Sam nodded. "You have to prepay here," Dean noted. "Can you pay on your way to the bathroom?" Dean hadn't thought anything of the request since he was used to sharing money with Sam. Sam however, was pretty annoyed that he was expected to pay for Dean's little adventure. He kept it to himself. Ten dollars would probably get them home. He would only put ten in. But, of course, he pulled out a twenty.

Just then, a man came out of the bathroom and pulled a gun. He pointed it at the cashier. "Give me all the money in the register." The cashier quickly complied. He only had about $50 in there, though. "This is it?" the gunman yelled in disgust. "Give me your wallet," he said to Sam. Sam did.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean was standing next to the car waiting for the pump to show that it was ready for pumping. He finally decided that Sam had just gone straight to the bathroom without paying and headed inside to pay himself. When he walked in, he froze. There was a man with a gun about two inches from Sam's heart, taking his wallet.

"Give me your wallet, too," the man said when he saw Dean entering.

"Sure, just take it easy," Dean said, slowly approaching the man with his wallet in his outstretched hand. He waited for the man to aim the gun at him, but for some reason, he kept it on Sam. He did reach out to take the wallet, though. Instinctively, Dean pulled it back to throw the man off balance and give Sam an opportunity to take him down. Too late, he realized that Sam wouldn't know what he was supposed to do. As the robber leaned further forward and started to fall, Dean took matters into his own hands and leaned in front of Sam to get to the gun. Meanwhile, the clerk took advantage of the situation and pressed the police call button under his counter.

The robber pushed Dean into Sam and they all went down in a tangle. Unfortunately, the robber ended up on top and was able to jump up fairly easily. He had also managed to maintain a hold on the gun. He had also seen the clerk push the button. "Which one of you has the keys to that car out there?" he asked, now in a panic. He had to get out of here fast, before the cops came.

"I do," Sam said, as he and Dean disentangled themselves from one another.

The robber reached down and grabbed his arm. Dean stood up. "Just give him the keys, Sam."

Sam didn't need to be told that. He reached slowly into his pocket and handed them towards the robber, but he shook his head. "Hand them to him," he said indicating Dean.

Dean couldn't believe this idiot was going to take him hostage. But better him than Sam. He took the keys from Sam and turned towards the door as the robber indicated he should do. "Out to the car, nice and slow," the robber said. Dean walked forward and when he reached the driver's side, turned around and looked. To his horror, he saw that Sam was also being taken hostage.

"You don't need two hostages, man. Just take me," Dean said.

"No. I saw how you tried to protect this one in there. I need you to drive and I need this one to make sure you don't try anything stupid."

Sam knew he and Dean had their differences, but was hoping that Dean would at least not want him dead.

Dean remembered and had it firmly in his head that this Sam was defenseless. He would do whatever this jerk wanted to keep Sam safe. But the second Sam was out of his reach, this guy was toast.

"Get in!" he hissed to Dean and opening the back door, he shoved Sam in and crawled in next to him. He had the gun firmly planted in Sam's temple and was keeping a tight grip on his arm. "Drive," he ordered.


	6. Misadventure

"But," Dean started to say when the robber cut him off, "I said drive."

Dean drove but knew they weren't going to get very far with the amount of gas that was in the tank. He heard sirens coming up behind him.

"Drive faster," the man ordered.

Dean complied, and looked nervously at the gas gauge needle hovering below empty. "We're going to run out of gas," he said.

"What?" the man bellowed and Dean heard Sam grunt.

"Why do you think we were at the gas station?" Dean asked in frustration. This guy was going to kill Sam because he stole a car that was out of gas. Brilliant.

"Turn right up here," the man ordered. Dean did so and they came to a bridge. "Stop half way across it."

Dean didn't like the looks of this, but he had no choice. They ran out of gas as they got onto the bridge and he coasted to a stop a few yards later.

"Get out," the man ordered. Dean got out and the man pushed Sam out and followed behind. Dean considered an escape then, but the man never let go of Sam's arm and even though he had to remove the gun from Sam's temple to let him up, he still had it aimed there.

The police cars pulled to a stop at the end of the bridge and blockaded their escape from that direction. Dean looked over to the other end of the bridge as he heard sirens from that direction. Soon enough they were blocking that route of escape. Dean didn't know what this guy's plan was, but was afraid whatever it was would not bode well for Sam.

"Drop your weapon!" a police officer shouted through a bull horn.

"No, I'll kill them," the man yelled and pulled Sam closer to him and pushed the gun tighter into his head. Sam took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking of Jessica. All he wanted to do was see her one more time.

The man started pulling Sam to the edge of the bridge. "Come on, man. Just give yourself up," Dean begged. The man was going to go over the bridge and take Sam with him. Dean could see what was going to happen, but couldn't see any way to stop it. Now, he was definitely too far away to attempt a tackle or anything else before that guy got a shot off. A shot that would go into Sam's head.

Just as he was thinking that, Dean heard a shot. "No!" he yelled and fell to his knees. When he looked up, though, Sam was still standing and the gunman was sinking to the ground. A sniper had apparently found his mark. Dean jumped to his feet and pulled Sam away from the man, in case there was any chance he was still alive.

Sam looked down at the man. He had never seen a dead person before. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel. This man was going to kill him, but now he was dead. Should he be glad that he was dead? Sad at the waste of life? Right now, the only thing he could feel was relief that he was still alive. He sagged into Dean a little. Dean caught him, but when Sam realized what was happening, he immediately stood up straight. Dean was not someone you relied on.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Jessica woke in an empty bed and figured Sam had already gone downstairs. She showered and dressed and then went to join Sam and his family for breakfast.

"Good morning," Mary said when Jessica entered the kitchen.

"Morning. Where's Sam?" she asked, only seeing John and Mary at the table.

"I haven't seen him this morning. He's not still in bed?" John asked.

Jessica shook his head. "Maybe he went for a jog." Sam had taken up jogging last year as a way to reduce stress and keep in shape.

The doorbell rang and John went to go answer it. Both his sons stood on the steps. "Sam, where were you?"

"Long story," Sam responded with a glare at Dean. If it hadn't been for his stupid genie hunt, nothing would have happened.

"What happened?" John asked in the stern voice that Dean was so used to hearing. He hadn't seen the marine side of his Dad since he got here, but it was coming out now. Dean was always the one to think up stories to keep them out of trouble when they were kids, so he was pretty good at it. He was just about to tell the one he had come up with when Sam blurted out the truth.

"Dean wanted to go hunt a genie, and on the way back we stopped for gas and got involved in a holdup. The guy took us a hostage and was killed by a police sniper."

John looked towards the kitchen. "Let's not worry your mother with this," he said. "What the hell is a genie hunt?"

"No idea," Sam said, looking to Dean.

Why had he told Sam the truth? Now his dad thought he was crazy. "It won't happen again, sir," he said.

"It better not. You're Sam's big brother. You're supposed to keep him out of trouble, not get him into trouble."

At that Sam laughed. The idea of _Dean_ keeping _him_ out of trouble was ridiculous.

Dean's cell phone rang. It was Carmen. She had just gotten home from work and was wondering where Dean was. He went home to try to smooth things over with her. Sam and Jessica left for the airport shortly thereafter without speaking to Dean again.


	7. Destiny

"Thanks for having us over to dinner," Carmen said to Mary. "This is great. I don't really do a lot of cooking."

"Well, you're busy at the hospital," Mary said. She admired Carmen's dedication to nursing. She had been a stay at home mother and loved it, but sometimes she wondered if she should be doing something more with her life. It seemed too late to bother now.

"Why don't you ladies relax and we'll take care of the clean up," John said.

"Oh, what's the occasion?" Mary laughed as she and Carmen headed out to the living room to talk.

"I'm not sure what was going on a few weeks ago, but you seem fine now," John said to Dean when the women had left. "I was afraid we were going to have to have you committed or something."

Dean remained silent. He didn't know what he could say. He knew he wasn't crazy, but if he explained what was really going on, that was exactly was his father would think.

"How have you and Carmen been doing?" John asked.

"Great," Dean answered truthfully. He could see why he had fallen in love with her even if he hadn't been there to do it.

"Maybe you and Sam can have a double wedding?" John prodded.

"Have you talked to Sam lately?" Dean asked. He was trying to avoid the whole marriage discussion. He and Carmen were supposed to have been together for a year, but in reality he had only known her for a few weeks. It was too early to make that kind of commitment.

"Yes. The school year ends in two weeks and they have a week off before their internships start. They're going to come for a visit."

"That's great," Dean beamed.

"Please don't take your brother on any more adventures," John admonished. He didn't want anything to derail Sam's bright future.

"No, sir," Dean responded. He meant it. He didn't want anything to go wrong with Sam.

"Glad to hear it," John said and they finished up the dishes in a companionable silence.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Two days later, Dean's cell phone rang in the middle of the night. He checked the caller ID. "Dad? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Can you and Carmen come stay with your mother? I have to leave now and don't want her to be alone."

"Carmen's got the night shift, but I can be there in 15," Dean said, already pulling on a pair of jeans. "What's going on?"

"I'll let your mother explain. I've got to get to the airport. There's a flight in an hour. If I hurry I can catch it."

"A flight where?" Dean asked, but his father had already hung up. He finished getting dressed and rushed over to his parents' house.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Mom, what's going on?" Dean asked as he rushed in the house.

"Jessica's dead and Sam is missing," Mary said through tears.

"What? What happened?" Dean asked, worried.

"Jessica's throat was slit and there was no sign of Sam anywhere. They think he killed her and took off."

"That's ridiculous," Dean said. Then he thought of something as he remembered Ava's fiancé, laying in bed with his throat slashed. "Was there sulphur there?"

"I don't know. Why would you ask that?" Mary asked, suddenly alert.

"No reason," Dean lied.

Mary couldn't believe she was about to ask Dean this. There was no way he could know about this stuff. But why else would he ask about sulphur? "Are you thinking a demon was involved?"

Needless to say, Dean was taken aback by the question. It was what he was thinking, but how did she know that. "How do you know about demons?"

"How do you?" she countered.

"How do you?" he insisted.

"I used to hunt them before you were born," Mary admitted.

"What?" Dean was shocked.

"I answered you. How do you know about them?"

"I'm a hunter," Dean answered simply.

"Since when?" Mary answered. She had wanted to keep both her sons from this life. She had cut ties with every hunter she had ever known so there could be no chance of exposure.

"My whole life," Dean said.

"That's impossible," Mary said. I would have noticed if my teenage son was hunting. You would have bruises and broken bones and missed school.

"A couple of weeks ago I was hunting a djinn. Do you know about them?"

"A little. I know they feed off of people by injecting them with some kind of supernatural venom which makes them dream like they're having a wish granted. The rules state that they have to actually grant a wish to their tenth victim and not feed off of them. You kill them with a lamb's blood dipped in silver."

"I guess I was the tenth victim," Dean said. He hadn't known about that, but it made sense. That's how the whole wish legend got started. "He must have read my mind for my deepest wish and it was that you never died."

"What are you talking about? I'm not dead."

"Because I wished you weren't," Dean said.

Mary processed this information. To anyone else, Dean would have seemed like a crazed lunatic. But she was raised a hunter and this explained why Dean had been acting differently lately. He was pretty much a different person. But still her son, and she loved him. And Sam. They had to find Sam fast if it was a demon.

"What made you immediately think demon?" Mary asked.

"When Sam was six months old, a demon went into his nursery. You died in a fire that it started in there. Sam has visions. My Sam does anyway. I don't know about this Sam. But it seems likely that if the demon is after him here, too, then he must have. There are a whole bunch of psychics like Sam, all born in 1983. The demon has plans for them to lead a demon army."

Mary cringed. "This demon, do you happen to know if he has yellow eyes?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"You know him?" Dean asked, astonished.


	8. The Hunt

"I made a deal with him to bring back your father," Mary said.

Dean almost wanted to laugh. But he didn't. "You sold your soul? When?"

"1973. But not my soul. He said he would come by the house for something I wouldn't miss and if he wasn't disturbed nobody would be hurt," Mary explained.

"And you believed him?" Dean yelled in a rage. He had done some stupid things in his day, but to make an unknown deal with a demon? That was crazy even for him.

"Your father was dead. He had killed my parents. I was all alone and desperate," Mary said. As the years had gone by, she had begun to believe that nothing bad had come of that deal. That maybe the demon was back in Hell or that it had forgotten all about her.

"Well, I think you sold Sam," Dean told her harshly. He didn't mean to be mad at his mother, but he couldn't help it.

"There wouldn't be a Sam if I hadn't," Mary defended herself.

"Do you know any hunters?" Dean asked. He was still mad, but they needed help, not to fight with each other.

"No. I cut myself off from the hunting community when I married your father."

Dean wrote down a phone number and handed it to her. "Call Bobby Singer. He's a hunter. Explain what's going on and see if he'll help. Tell him to get the Roadhouse involved. Hopefully he'll know what you mean."

"Where are you going?" Mary asked.

"I'm going to see a psychic in town to see if she can help."

Dean had tried to look up Missouri Mosely a couple days after he had got here. He had found out she was in a nursing home in town and decided not to bother her. But now, he felt he didn't have a choice.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Bobby Singer just finished towing in a car when his phone rang. "Hello?" he answered gruffly.

"My name is Mary Winchester and I need your help," Mary began.

Bobby listened to her story. He didn't know how her son, Dean, had gotten his phone number or knew about him, but clearly this family needed help. "OK, I'll call the roadhouse and get a bunch of hunters together. Call me back when you know where we're going."

"Thank you so much," Mary said.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Missouri, my name is Dean Winchester," he said when he entered her room. He knew that she had had a stroke, but wasn't sure how it had affected her.

"I don't know you," she said tentatively, "but you know me. That's strange to say the least."

Dean smiled and sat down opposite her. "We met about a year and a half ago, but I had a little run in with a djinn and changed history. So, yes, I know you, but you don't know me."

"What can I do for you, Dean?" Missouri sensed that this boy needed help and fast. She also sensed that he was one of the good guys.

"A demon has my brother. I need to find him and I need to find the Colt to save him."

"I can't help you. I'm not that kind of a psychic. But I know who can. Her name is Pamela Barnes. She's actually in town visiting me." Just then a sexy brunette walked in the door. "Speak of the devil," Missouri said.

"I take offense at that," Pamela smiled.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have time for chit chat. I need to find my brother and the Colt," Dean said brusquely. He was desperate and scared and this psychic was his last chance.

"OK, what's your brother's name?" Pamela asked, sensing the urgency was real.

"Sam Winchester," Dean answered.

Pamela dealt out some cards, said some mumbo jumbo and answered, "He's in Cold Oak, South Dakota."

"Can you find the Colt for me?" Dean asked. It was the only way he could think of to save Sam from that yellow-eyed freak for good.

"Vampires have it," she answered simply.

"In Manning, Colorado?" Dean asked.

"How did you know that?" Pamel asked.

"Lucky guess."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

John was in the police station asking questions, trying to find out what had happened to Jessica. They were treating him with contempt. They thought he had raised a murderer. He would leave soon, but he still had to try to get answers.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam woke up wet and cold outside in what looked like a ghost town. "Jessica?" he called. There was no answer. He got up and looked around. He started walking on the porch of an old building, hoping it wouldn't fall in on him, when he heard a noise from around the corner. He picked up a piece of wood. He remembered how easily Dean had disarmed him of his bat a couple of weeks ago, but he had no other option, so he continued on. A short guy about his age came around the corner. "Who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Sam. Who are you?"

"Andy. How did I get here? Where are we?" Andy asked.

"I have no idea." They heard a cry for help and went to investigate.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean called Mary. "I know where Sam and the Colt are. I'm going after the Colt and then I'm going to go get Sam."

"I'm coming with you," Mary said.

"No, Mom," Dean said, firmly. He was not going to lose his mother to the demon in this life, too. She hadn't been hunting in over 30 years. To say she was rusty would be an understatement.

"He's my son," Mary said adamantly.

"Look, I know you may find this hard to believe, but I've spent my whole life protecting Sammy. It's my job. I will bring him home safely. I made him a promise once and now I'll make it to you. As long as I'm around, nothing bad is going to happen to him."

Mary was silent for a moment. She loved Dean. He was her son. But she wasn't used to relying on him, especially not in a life or death situation. But, she had to remember that this Dean wasn't the same as her Dean. He was a seasoned hunter. "OK," she finally said. "Bring him back."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean called Bobby and told him to bring as many hunters as he could to Manning, Colorado. The brief conversation was weird, with Bobby treating him like a stranger. When they got there, they attacked the vampire nest in force and found the gun. Dean took possession of it. Some of the other hunters were questioning his authority. Nobody had ever heard of him before.

"Look," Bobby said, when Dean had gotten into his car and driven off, expecting the rest to follow. "I've never heard of him either, but we wouldn't know about this hunt without him. He says there are a bunch of innocent people in their 20s being held by a demon. I think we got to go along with him. I can tell he's a good kid."

Bobby was known for being a good judge of character so everyone grudgingly went along. But they all agreed if they thought this Winchester kid was pulling something, they'd take care of him.


	9. Rescue

Sam and Andy had found four other people there. Ava, Lily, Jake, and Anson. Anson was apparently Andy's twin brother and there was some animosity there.

"What's going on?" Ava asked.

"No idea," Sam answered.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" Andy asked Anson.

"No way, Bro," Anson answered. He thought that Ava girl was cute. "Ava, kiss me," he said, using his "special" voice that made others instantly obey him.

"No way," Ava answered. Who did this guy think he was? He was going to be her next victim.

Andy and Anson exchanged a glance of surprise. They knew their powers didn't work on each other, but hadn't found anyone else who was immune to it. None of the others noticed anything amiss.

"Lily, kiss me," Anson tried again.

Lily smiled. She knew what would happen if she did. There was something about this guy that made her want to kill him, though. "OK," she said and stepped forward to kiss him. She put her hand on his cheek and nothing happened. He should have been on the ground with no pulse. She stepped back, surprised.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Lily replied. She couldn't very well tell them that she had just tried to kill this jerk.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The hunters gathered at the edge of the woods. The road was blocked so they had to walk in. "Now, we're here to kill a demon, but be careful of the civilians," Bobby ordered.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Ava summoned the demon and instructed it to go after Anson. The whole group was together but everyone but her had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes when the demon started her attack and she "woke up" screaming with everybody else. The rest of them ran out of the building where they were confronted by a bunch of people.

"Sam!" one of them yelled.

"Dean? What are you doing here? How did you find us?" Sam asked.

"Long story. Come on. Let's get out of here."

"I'm afraid I can't let my children leave here just yet." The yellow eyed demon materialized in front of them all. Dean lifted up the Colt and shot him before the demon could process what was going on. Dean watched as he glowed red several times and fell to the ground dead.

"What was that?" Sam asked after a moment.

"That was a demon," Bobby answered.

"A demon?" Ava questioned. Now that the contest was off, her best bet was to act innocent.

A group of hunters took charge of Andy, Avan, and Jake and led them out of the woods. They explained what had happened as best they could. All of the kids wisely kept their mouths shut about their powers.

Lily and Sam were the only two left with Bobby and Dean and Lily started to fall. Sam reached down to catch her and she yelled, "No." But once again nothing happened.

"Sorry, I'm late to the party," came a voice from the woods.

Dean looked up to see Gordon Walker. "We're all set, thanks," he said, knowing Gordon didn't know him and hoping he didn't know about the psychic kids.

"Sure you are, now. I killed three of the freaks on my way in," Gordon said.

Dean blanched. He knew.

"What are you talking about, Gordon?" Bobby asked.

"These kids are all psychics. They got their power from a demon and now they're supposed to lead a demon army," Gordon explained.

"Well, the demon is dead now, so it's over," Dean said.

"You knew about this?" Bobby asked Dean. Maybe he had misjudged him after all.

"We have to kill these last two," Gordon declared.

"Nobody's killing my brother," Dean growled.

Sam looked up at him surprised. He didn't understand why Dean was so protective of him lately, although right now he was grateful.

"I'll kill the girl first, if it makes you feel better," Gordon said and aimed his gun at Lily. Instinctively she rushed forward to knock him over, and when she touched him, he fell to the ground dead.

"What the hell?" Bobby asked.

"When I touch people, their hearts stop," Lily said. "I didn't mean to do it. I was just protecting myself."

"Nothing happened when you touched Sam," Dean noted.

"Or Anson earlier," Sam remembered. "You touched him on purpose."

"He was a jerk. I thought he might be dangerous to the rest of us. I found out from Andy earlier that he had killed people. So, I guess I was right."

"Whatever. I just want to get back to Jess."

"Sam, I'm sorry, but Jessica is dead," Dean said. "The demon killed her when he took you."

Sam just stared straight ahead. He didn't want to go on without Jessica. They had just finished their second year of law school. They had such plans.

"Lily, do you have anywhere to go?" Dean asked.

"No. I can't touch anyone, so I've been living like a hermit. I have my food delivered, so I don't actually touch anyone outside."

"What do you do for money?" Sam asked, in spite of himself.

"My dad was like a dot com billionaire. My mom died in a fire when I was a baby and my dad left everything to me when he died four years ago. I have enough to live on the rest of my life."

"Maybe we should stick together. You want to come home with me?" Sam asked.

Lily nodded her agreement. She thought Sam was the only person in the world she couldn't hurt and Sam just wanted to go back home and forget about law school, Jessica, everything. He couldn't bring himself to abandon this poor, lonely girl, though.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Two years later

"Sam, we're so glad you decided to move back here permanently after finishing law school and passing the bar," Mary said.

"Yes, and it's great that you and Dean have become so close and that you and Lily and he and Carmen are having a double wedding," John said. He frowned for a moment as he remembered hoping to Dean that this would occur, but with Jessica instead of Lily.

As if reading his mind, Sam said, "A part of me will always love Jessica and Lily knows that. But Jess would want me to be happy and Lily does make me happy. Plus, it's like we're the only people we can be with. Lily, because I'm the only one she won't kill by touching and me, because Lily was the only one who could reach me after Jess died."

Dean and Carmen came in and they all sat down to one of their many frequent family dinners. After Dean and the others had rescued Sam and Lily, Sam realized that Dean had changed. They had grown closer and were finally the brothers they had never been before. He knew there was some secret he had, but for the first time since they were little kids, he trusted him, so didn't press for an answer.

Dean and Mary never shared their secret of hunting with the others.

They had no explanation for Lily, but John didn't expect them to have one. He just thought she was some kind of psychic with a strange power she couldn't control. He didn't know a demon caused it.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

A/N I know that "they all lived happily ever after" is a little cheesy to say the least, but with the whole wish-granting genie thing and the fact that I kept them bound in the wish, I thought it was appropriate.


End file.
